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In a previous post we suggested using basil twigs as a nice addition to the smoker to add that “extra something” to your grilled meat. Here’s another barbecue trick.

You can use long, strong, rosemary twigs as skewers for your next elegant kebab.

This is a great reason to grow a large rosemary bush in your garden. They actually look and smell great and, in the right climate, they stay green most of the year. They even flower. I’ve seen many waist high rosemary bushes at restaurants and friend’s homes that produce great skewers.

Just strip off the leaves, except for a couple of inches at the tip. They add a rustic look and great flavor to the meat and veggies.

Here’s and egg recipe that has just two main ingredients. Eggs and smoke.

Around Easter you may be looking for something special for that extra basket of boiled eggs. Or maybe you want a new twist for a potato salad recipe. Try this Smoked Egg Recipe.

The trick to boiling eggs is not a big secret. Just cover the eggs in a pot of water. Add in a spoon of salt and vinegar and bring to boil. Once boiling take the pot off the heat for twelve minutes and then – with a slotted spoon – plunge them in ice water.

To add the smoke for our egg recipe we used a Brinkmann “bullet” style smoker with five lumps of charcoal and one large chunk of hickory. Because this is cold smoking you can fill the water pan in the smoker to block what should be very low heat.

Add your boiled eggs (peeled or partially peeled) on the top grate and cold smoke for a full hour.

Remove the eggs and store together in the refrigerator overnight to further strengthen smoke flavor.

I experimented with fully shelled boiled eggs and cracked (and rolled) shell on boiled eggs hoping for an aesthetic difference akin to the tea infused eggs I had seen.

The egg recipe just screams keep it simple. Just add smoke and a bit of salt and you have something special. You can take it further as a secret ingredient in deviled eggs or an potato salad recipe. It’s one more reason to get your kids to hunt for Easter eggs.

I have attended BBQ contests, mixed and matched spices and rubs and have tasted so-called winners “Best”. Honestly, few have lived up to their billing. While attending a BBQ contest last summer, I spoke with three competitors who all cooked their Tri-tip roasts differently. The first group smoked theirs in a hanging smoker. When served, the temperature was 135 and rare. The sauce a mix of ketchup. The first rule of thumb is…

TEMPERATURE; You need to achieve slightly pink in the middle and totally done around the exterior. In order to achieve this, I pull my Tri-Tip at 138 degrees. Let the meat sit for 15 minutes and it will come up 10 degrees in temperature. Remember, 140 is rare, 150 medium, 160 well. A well done Tri-Tip is chewy and lacks flavor and taste.

The second competitor called their entry “Santa Fe style”. They used a Santa Fe style rub on the beef. They also had a special red tree bark thrown on to smoke the last 10 minutes which was supposed to impart a special flavor on the beef. What I found was very little flavor from the rub, and no extra special taste from the bark.Dull and bland!

PREPARATION: I have found little to no difference utilizing countless rubs on Tri-Tip. Remember you are cooking a roast. If you really want to impart flavor, use a wet marinade. You have a thick piece of beef and you need penetration. Try to marinate for at least 24 hours with potent flavors to build character and flavor profile. You can add your spices to the marinade.

The last competitor and winner of this BBQ Tri-Tip award was a local winery, whose chef did little to no prep but creatively hid his trip tip in a small brioche bun with a bit of home made chutney. I thought it was smart, but far from showcasing the meat product. He hid it!

BUILD CHARACTER AND FLAVOR: the meat should be marinated to build a rich flavor. The longer the better but try for over night. Sear the outside of the roast first to help build a char and a crust. If you have a bit of a fat layer, this will help build a good crust. A total of 5-10 minutes over direct heat when you are getting the coals going should do the trick. Once the sear is complete, pull it across the grill and indirectly smoke it. Use chip and chunk and a mix of hickory, apple, cherry or other fruit. Hickory for its pungent signature and fruit wood for its mild taste. Watch your temperature and pull it at around 138 degrees. Sit it for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it ENJOY!

One trick to great BBQ smokers is that you can build a cooker all on your own for less than $200 by constructing an Ugly Drum Smoker. A “U.D.S.” as some call them.

“If you don’t include the lid you’re talking under $100″ says Seth Watari from Southern BBQ Network. Watari suggests a search on Craigs List to find deals on the Lids. Best to find cast-offs from Weber 22” Kettles. Thaey are just the right size for the 55 gallon drums.

Watari very successfully competes in cook-offs throughout the South East and the UDS cookers work great. His “R-2-BQ” Star Wars themed smoker recently brought home the grand championship in Best Of Berkeley. One suggestion: Use high temperature paint where you can to customize. “I use a paint that withstands up to 500 degrees and if your cooker gets over 500 degrees – the paint is the least of your worries.”

One more advanced modification is the thermometer / fan control. One very popular brand is the BBQ Guru. The gizmo has advanced features including smart phone control.

The Ugly Drum Smokers are common on the BBQ circuit and you can find more details on how to construct your own HERE.

In the near future the seasons will change and spring & summer will be here once more. Accordingly, the chance for relaxing outdoors and igniting the grill is just around the corner. You, as a your family’s skilled grill expert, are expected to cook up some mouth-watering, delicious grub. Relax, we are on-the-spot to lend a helping hand. Thus, the most helpful ten pieces of advice for smoking food and grilling with BBQ smoker grills. this advice is certain to have your meals worshiped by all.

Plenty guess that smoking food can be an awfully arduous and daunting affair. Smoking food is something that everyone can pull off. But few have the perseverance for. firstly, you need the right equipment. You have your pick of a wood smoker, charcoal, electric or gas smoker A modest upright smoker may be priced at less than fifty dollars online. However you Will not be capable of using it for much food.

Finally for the ten tips:

1. When you originally shop for your portions, go over with the butcher how long to smoke and grill and also what kinds of wood they suggest. They ARE the meat professionals and can give you helpful guidance.

2. You have got to carefully pick the flavor of wood you will grill with. There are available a few great cooking chips. Apple, Alder, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak and Pecan and even more. An individual Wood chip contains its peculiar unique taste, thus select intelligently as which wood would compliment the meat the greatest.

3. As you are setting up the barbecue smoker grill you will need to build your fire pile on one side and position the food on the other side as far as you can do from the embers. Try to remember smoking your food is all about cooking the meal at a very,very slow pace. Consequently causing the great flavor to go completely within the food.

4. When you are using coal, it sometimes takes forty five minutes to burn down before you can rest your food in the grill. Thirty minutes for a self lighting charcoal. You should always use brand-new coal.

5. Leave all the fat on the food as you are smoking and grilling meat. It will up the great flavor to the food and this fat melt off into the pit or grill.

6. Keep the heat low in your smoker. This will usually serve to keep the portions tasty.

7. There should not be any flames as you are smoking your meat. If it flares up, take off the food and increase the rack distance above the flames. Or, spray down the flames using water.

8. As you smoke make sure to get a sear on the meat. Don’t flip it over till the surface is a crisp dark brown or almost black.

9. Before serving briskets, roast turkeys or chickens, allow the meat to sit and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve steaks and pork chops right after cooking.

10. Don’t leave your meat to remain in the smoker when it is done or it will dry out.

OK finally,, always remember to cook more than you intend to eating for one meal. Due to your great cooking, all are certain to return for more than two servings. And so, put your smoker grills, BBQ smokers and electric smokers to full use. Undoubtedly, everybody loves smoked and grilled meat.

in order to discover the smoker grill BBQ chefs are raving about check out these popular [http://bestbbqsmokergrills.com]BBQ smokers.

Just wrapped another episode of BBQ’s favorite Podcast. The smokin’ episode is titled: Rollin’ with Rotisserie, Slicing Brisket and a Tearfull Secret Ingredient. Click through to the video or head over to iTunes and subscribe to the feed.

From http://GrateTV.com Viewers ask about carving beef brisket and hosts Jack Waiboer and Bill West unveil another secret ingredient. This is episode 9 of GrateTV with hosts Jack Waiboer and Bill West.

The great thing about the Big Green Egg Grill is the diversity of cooking choices that you have available to you, including the option of smoking foods, grilling, as well as outdoor baking.

The Green Egg Grill is a well designed barbecue that’s easy to set up and very simple to use. It is available in a number of different sizes, depending on the amount of cooking that you need to do. It comes in a mini version, what they call an original version, large, and extra large. Obviously the more food that you tend to cook with each barbecue, or the more guests that you entertain, then the more cooking space you need. This will usually lead you to one of the larger models. If you’re in doubt give the company a call since their customer service is excellent.

This grill is very functional in all types of weather. So even if you live in northern climates you can obtain great cooking results even in the middle of winter when it’s snowing and cold. The key is the unique shape and construction of the BBQ which uses ceramic for the walls. The ceramic material can withstand very cold temperatures, and it also allows the grill to heat up to as much as 1800°F. Of course when you’re outside cooking in the middle of a snowstorm your next door neighbor may think that you’re a bit odd, but they won’t think so the next time you invite them over to try some of your barbecued food.

The construction of the Green Egg Grill allows it to maintain a consistent temperature for a long time even though you are using traditional charcoal. For example, if you want to slow cook ribs or other meets at a very low temperature, say 250°F for several hours you don’t have to worry about temperature variations nearly as much as you would with a normal BBQ.

This barbecue is very versatile and allows you to slow cook your food, but it’s also great for smoking meats and grilling different types of vegetables and fish. You can also use this grill to simulate a brick oven to cook pizzas with exceptionally flavorful. Everyone’s heard about the famous fire cooked pizzas in New York, and this grill can simulate those conditions with the extreme heating and brick ceramic walls.

As well, there are a number of accessories that are made specifically for this grill, including a walk gadget that allows you to stir fry rice or vegetables very easily. Another accessory that many people will find useful is the handy fish great. Grilling fish has always been a difficult thing for many people to master, because it is very easy to overcook fish and lose all of the flavor and enjoyment. With this barbecue even the most novice chef should be able to create tender fish dishes with the slow consistent cooking.

This is a long-lasting product, and your investment should last for many years. Conventional barbecues cannot come close to some of the flavors that are achievable with the Green Egg Grill.

Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the Green Egg Grill for smoking and barbequing. The information packed Big Green Egg Grill website will teach you everything you need to know about selecting your next BBQ.

If you like your steak Well-Done (like me) or Rare (like many) the fool proof way to know “when it’s done” is use a dependable instant read thermometer. After reading this you’ll probably be frustrated until you get one. Here’s some recommended beef “doneness” temperatures:

So… what if you forgot the handy meat thermometer? There’s a handy barbecue tip that’s been around a long time. “Hand”-y as in Hand. You can test your steak’s done-ness using the OK handy method. It’s easy. Massage, stretch, and shake one hand loose so that your thumb and it’s muscles are fully relaxed.

Touch the round base of your thumb on the relaxed hand. This soft resistance and feel is similar to the texture of a very rare thick steak.

Now – make the “OK” sign (don’t pinch… just close your thumb and forefinger together) and again touch the base of your thumb. This texture is similar to a medium-rare steak.

Next, touch your thumb to your middle finger. This firmer resistance is similar to the texture of a medium steak.

Press your thumb to your fourth finger. The semi-firm texture at the base of your thumb is similar to a medium-well steak.

Finally, touch your thumb to your pinky. The very firm (some would say tough) texture at the base of your thumb is close to a well-done steak.

You don’t need a thousand dollar stainless smoker to prepare great BBQ. In fact, you may already have all you need in the kitchen.

Even a gas grill can provide a succulent slow smoked flavor to almost any meat. The secret is in the smoke and getting the heat down LOW.

Good thing is many of today’s gas grills come with a temperature gauge right on the lid. 225 degrees to 250 degrees should do nicely for most slow smoking. Just give it plenty of time.

You’ll also need just enough smoke. Here’s how you can handle it even without a special green egg or smoker box. Just soak some wood chips for about an hour in water. You can buy great chips and chunks in most grocery stores these days. Hickory is good but pit masters will argue over flavors of wood for hours… our advice is just stay away from pressure treated! (We’re not kidding! It can kill you.)

Create an envelope out of heavy duty aluminum foil. It need not be pretty… sometimes I’ll just wrap up the larger chunks of hardwood in a wad. Then, lay the pouch on or near the gas burner (or even on charcoal). Have another pouch handy after an hour or so. It’s OK to leave the “done” pouch in the grill until after cooking. You’d be surprised how much smoke flavor continues to emit from the pouch even after the visible smoke is gone. This easy extra adds a nice touch to gas grill ‘cue. Clean up is also a breeze.

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Welcome To BBQTricks!

I'm Bill West. I blog about BBQ and occasionally country music. When it comes to BBQ I try to find solid time saving tips and tricks to make the grilling life a bit easier. It's life hacking for the backyard cooker. Read More…